Today's magic word is "HOT". Dee is getting a well deserved day of rest and lounging in her nice, cool stall. Yesterday she did quite a bit. I got on and did a little flat work... I can't tell you how much I've missed having someone on the ground to yell at me about my bad habits! I get too rigid through the arms and I have terrible posture, so actually being reminded to "Lift your hand!" "Relax the arm!" "SIT UP STRAIGHT!!!" is wonderful and MUCH MUCH MUCH needed! Funny how something as simple as lifting my hand gets her off her head at the canter.
Anyway. After I rode, one of the girls agreed to get on and do a bit of jumping with her. I think I'll be able to try next week... fingers crossed. I'm looking forward to taking jump lessons at this barn, because I like the way that N operates. It seems to be all about making the horse jump naturally and quietly, without too much interference from up top. For instance: Dee is a good jumper, but she hasn't learned how to handle the landing side of a fence. She jumps, lands in a heap, and then just kind of scrambles away. To help that, N set up a little grid. Trot pole to x-rail, one stride to small vertical, one stride to pole, one stride to pole. She was doing ok over the first pole, but then ignoring and scrambling over the second, with no thought of balance or poise. So N made it a tiny vertical to force Dee to THINK and BALANCE. It worked wonders! She was actually forced to land and BALANCE for the raised pole at the end. Good girl! I enjoyed watching the girl ride her. She did a very good job of convincing Dee to be a bit quieter about the approaches, because her first inclination is to rush. She's been like that since I first started her over fences last year. She just gets in a hurry. I think we're at the perfect place to sort that out, because hunters don't hurry. They approach the jumps quietly (and then look fabulous in the air). Wouldn't it be fun to get there!?
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